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Monday, July 9

Look, what do you want from the end of an era? Peace and quiet?

I'm addressing this post to the more high-strung among Pundita readers. I gave good advice last year or the year before when I quoted Indiana Jones telling Marion to keep her eyes closed, not to look, after that idiot opened the Ark.

Just don't look if you think the world is coming to an end. If you can't take the present levels of chaos, you could always turn your attention to the Syrian War, which while a cliffhanger a minute is orderly.

The majority of Syrians want their country back -- the entire country, not bits and pieces. President Assad made that point very strongly just today. So the Syrian military and its militias are plodding along according to plan, one boot in front of the other.

I find it calming to see that good guys actually have a chance at victory, for once. So while I do watch all the rest out of the corner of my eye, I'm largely focused on Syria. This way I avoid hysterics about the chaos accompanying the crackup of an old order and emergence of the new.

A bonus is that by focusing on Syria I am able to keep a close on the present era in foreign relations/defense policies in the U.S. and several other countries -- although I use the term 'policy' very broadly. It's more like Mexican jumping beans jumping from one side of a hot griddle to the other.